Abstract: Water footprint during crop production, an aggregative indicator quantifying the utilization of water resource during the whole crop development, clearly reflects the type, quantity, and efficiency of water consumption. This tool provides a new method for assessing agricultural water resources management. Based on the calculation of maize productivity, we evaluated the spatialtemporal variations in six different regions of Henan during 1990-2015. The water footprint of maize production in Henan stayed at a low level after decreasing with fluctuation. The water footprint varied greatly among different regions. The western region of Henan Province had the highest water footprint, while the eastern, mid-southern and northern parts of Henan had lower water footprint than the average value at province level. The major portion (80%) of water footprint during maize production was contributed by green water. Temporally and spatially, the proportion of green water was negatively correlated with the precipitation during maize growth period. Based on the analysis of water footprint of the maizeproducing region, it is a good choice to use the stressresistant varieties to increase water use efficiency, and decrease area of maize planting in the western and southern parts of Henan where water footprint was high. However, the maize planting area should be maintained or expanded in the eastern, central southern and northern parts of Henan where the water footprint was lower.

Key words: biomass energy, abandoned mine area, carbon emission, power generation potential, solar energy